Gurgaon: Probe ordered into opening of elevated road on Iffco Chowk

NHAI sources said jersey barriers had been removed partially to give the impression that the road is open for use

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and traffic police denied opening the stretch for public use on Thursday and an investigation is under way.(Parveen Kumar/HT)

A day after the under-construction elevated road at Iffco Chowk was briefly accessed by commuters without the knowledge of authorities, it remains unclear as to how it was opened in the first place since the stretch is located next to high tension cables and puts the lives of commuters at risk.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and traffic police denied opening the stretch for public use on Thursday and an investigation is under way.

High tension poles have been left at the point where commuters take the elevated road. There’s an accident waiting to happen should a motorist lose control of his vehicle and ram the poles.

While Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, denied carrying out any investigation into the matter, sources in the road authority indicated that there was major miscommunication among authorities which led to jersey barriers being partially removed at the entrance to the elevated road, giving an impression to commuters that the stretch was open for use. Hence, the NHAI has opened a probe into whether there were any lapses.

DCP (traffic) Simardeep Singh also reiterated that he did not receive any prior notice on the ‘brief opening’ of the elevated road.

“There was no prior information or notice to the traffic police from the NHAI. In case of any development regarding the opening or blocking of passage, the authorities concerned coordinate with each other,” Singh said.

“Authorities cannot open under-construction projects for public use, as the same can put the lives of commuters at risk. This is a serious issue and officials need to initiate necessary action against those at fault,” Kapil Shekhawat, a resident of Sukhrali, said.

The issue hit headlines just a day after Hindustan Times ran a report on how some commuters are using he newly opened unidirectional u-turn flyover, which provides passage to commuters from MG Road towards Sukhrali or New Delhi, as a bi-directional one.

The elevated road at Iffco Chowk will allow commuters on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to avoid congestion at Iffco Chowk on way to Manesar. While its official date of opening is December 31, it is expected to open for trial by the end of this month.